What The Future Holds
by MarcWinter
Summary: "You're terrified of the future, aren't you?" Link lives his life day to day, never being able or allowed to think too far ahead. When he meets a girl who can't help but think about her future, he begins to seriously consider where his life is going. Modern AU Zelink
1. Chapter 1

I sat on the bus, watching the rain trickle down and hit the window. I smiled to myself, feeling like I belong in an antidepressant commercial. The day hadn't really brightened at all, just a continuous, steady stream of rain. There was something about it that felt so calming to me. I turned my head and glanced around the bus. For public transit at 5 in the evening, it was incredibly quiet. When I first began taking the bus instead of walking, this really surprised me. I soon learned, though, that all of the buses become packed around 5:30, so I would just narrowly miss the rush.

There were only four people besides myself on the bus, people who I saw on a near daily basis. There was an old man towards the front who was resting his hands on the cane he had in front of himself. Across from him sat a young girl, probably my age. I think I've seen her around the university once or twice, but I might be mistaken. She too seemed to be enjoying the rain outside her window. Two rows ahead of me and across the aisle sat a young woman who was all made up. She looked like she was going out somewhere, not returning home. With a quick glance I looked behind me and saw a middle-aged man wearing a uniform of some sort with a tired look in his eye.

_He must be going home. _I thought.

I faced forward again and turned my head to the window. I put my headphones in and rhythmically nodded along with the music. I found myself wondering how the others saw me. I wondered if I was just another college student to them, or perhaps they saw me as a guy that reminded them of someone in their families. I looked up at the electronic sign above the aisle and saw that we were approaching Wood Lane's bus stop. I sighed, knowing I still had a while to go. The bus pulled over at the stop and the driver opened the door.

A girl stepped in, looking relieved to be out of the rain. She smiled at the bus driver and paid the fare before walking down the aisle and taking a seat three rows ahead of me. I swear I've seen her before. I think she was in one of my lectures. Her hair was in a ponytail, but she quickly took that out and let her hair fall behind her. Seeing her with her hair down made me realize that she was in Professor Sahasrahla's Hyrulean History lecture. She sat towards the front, but would turn around to talk to her friend's behind her. She was incredibly pretty, but I never learned her name.

I realized I had been staring at her, and while I'm sure nobody had seen me, I quickly turned my head to the window. The sky hadn't brightened at all, so I anticipated hearing the rain all night. I turned up my music to fully drown out the engine noise. During the bus ride, two other people had gotten on. I knew the rush would be coming soon, and I found myself doing the usual routine a praying that it would happen after I got off. Of the five of us that ride this bus everyday, I knew my stop came before anybody else's.

After a few more minutes of silently listening to my music, the bus approached Hylia Drive. I pulled the cord beside me, alerting the driver I would be getting off. I stood up, grabbed my backpack and umbrella, and walked into the aisle. In front of me, I saw the girl from my History class was also getting off. We stepped off the bus, and she immediately walked to the shelter of the bus stop, going the way opposite of my own. She looked down the road, almost as if she was readying herself to run through the rain. She wasn't dressed for this weather, wearing only a thin sweater over her shirt and jeans.

I glanced back at her, as I waited for the cross walk signal. The bus drove off, leaving just me and her at the street corner. I glanced at my umbrella, then walked over to the bus stop shelter. She threw me a quick glance, then looked back down the road. I stepped forward a bit, to get her attention. She looked at me from the corner of her eye, until she noticed I was looking right at her. She turned to me completely and I held out my umbrella with a soft smile.

"Here, take this."

She seemed slightly surprised, if not suspicious. "No thank you."

"I insist. You'll get wet." I said, smiling never breaking.

She gave a small laugh. "You'll get wet without it."

I shrugged. "My jacket has a hood."

She looked at the umbrella, considering my offer. She seemed to really be at odds with herself about it.

"Tell you what," I began. I placed the umbrella on the ground between us. "It's there if you decide you want it."

I smiled one last time, then turned around, threw on my hood, and went back to the crosswalk. The walk signal was on, so I crossed right away. I heard her pick up my umbrella as I left.

"How will I give this back?" She called out to me.

I turned around halfway as I walked. "I'll be around!" I called back to her.

I continued down the sidewalk. My apartment was a few buildings down, it really wasn't any trouble to give up my umbrella. I began avoiding puddles and counting cracks in the pavement. For the amount of times I've walked down this exact sidewalk, I can never get to the same number of cracks. I don't know if some appear and disappear or what, but it just never happens.

* * *

><p>Upon entering my apartment, I called out for my roommate. I waited a second before calling his name again. Deciding that he wasn't here, I threw my backpack on the couch. I grabbed a bottle of water from the kitchen, then immediately went back to the living room and sat beside where my backpack had landed. I turned on the TV, flipping through the channels until I just let it stay on the news. I opened my backpack to get out my laptop. While the computer started up, I opened a separate pocket on my pack, and pulled out my phone.<p>

In the half hour I went without checking it, my aunt had called me twice. I sighed, tossing my phone beside me. I knew what she was calling about, but I didn't really want to talk about it. As my laptop finally turned on, Pipit came home. He barged right through the door, waving an envelope in his hand, seeming slightly frazzled. He walked to the kitchen and threw the envelope on the counter.

"Well, guess what time it is!" He said.

"Rent already?" I sighed. It seems like just last week we had to scrape together as much as we could to get our last payment to our super. Pipit and I both had jobs, but we both just barely made over minimum wage.

"Link, I told you, I'm not a fan of musicals." He smiled as he opened the envelope. I rolled my eyes at his pun before standing and walking over to him. "So…" he continued. "How do you think we'll get out of this one?"

"Didn't you say you were trying to get more hours?" I asked him.

"Emphasis on 'trying'" He said, shaking his head. "Everybody is getting hired in the cafeteria, it's what sucks about working on campus. With so many people, the hours have to be split up fairly. They won't give me any more hours."

"Crap…" I said, looking over the usual notification letter.

"What about you?" Pipit said, pulling a stool out. "Any luck getting more out of Telma?"

"I'm not going to ask for a raise, I would just ask to have more nights. I may just start taking a few weekdays." I told him.

Pipit laughed slightly. "Well, a bartender can only work specific hours in a day. Or night. Whatever."

"Exactly." I nodded. "And since I already work Thursday through Saturday, I could try to get Wednesday or something."

"People don't go to bars on Wednesday, though." He said. "Good luck getting tips."

"O ye of little faith." I said, waving the paper in front of him. "Bar flies go to a bar every chance they get. I see some every single night." Pipit laughed. "But really…" I said, looking back at the note. "We may need to get second jobs."

"Or another roommate." Pipit pointed out. He got off of his stool and walked to the couch.

I smirked at him. "Anybody you'd want to put up with on a daily basis?"

"I can hardly handle you." He said, plopping down, staring at the TV.

I smiled, and left the envelope on the counter.

* * *

><p>As I walked out of class, I felt a few rain drops land on my head. I looked up and saw the dark clouds in the sky, prompting me to put my hood up. The bus stop was just a block away, so I managed to make it there quickly, but this one didn't have a sheltered bench, so I was forced to stand as I waited. I felt the coolness of the rain through my thin jacket. It wasn't able to keep me warm, but at least it kept me dry.<p>

After about a minute of waiting, I heard footsteps going through a puddle beside me.

"You don't plan ahead very much, do you?"

I turned my head to the voice and saw the girl from yesterday. She was carrying my umbrella and giving my an amused look.

She held out the umbrella. "I believe this is yours."

I smiled at her, taking it from her hand. I held it between us and moved under it. "Come on, there's room for two here. It's a big umbrella."

She slowly moved under it. It seemed like the close proximity made her uncomfortable, but since it was a bit of a necessity, she would endure. She looked away, glancing down the road. I did the same in the opposite direction. I shifted uncomfortably, not sure if I should say anything to her. She didn't seem like she wanted to talk, but the silence was making the situation awkward.

"To answer your question, I only do for short term situations." I blurted out.

She turned to me, confused. "I'm sorry?"

"You asked if I don't plan ahead." I explained. "I do, just not long term."

I saw a look of realization on her face. "Oh, ok." She smiled, but turned back to look down the road. Taking that as a disinterest in talking, I pulled out my iPod. I scrolled through all of my songs, looking for one to listen to on the bus.

"There we go." I heard her say. I looked over and saw she was talking about the bus coming over to our stop. I let her get on first, holding the umbrella over her as she stepped in. I stepped in behind her, getting my money out. The girl stepped aside, as she was filtering through her purse looking for money. "Go ahead." She told me. I pulled out my change, gave it to the driver and walked back to a seat.

I looked around and saw the old man, the young woman, and the middle aged man. The girl my age wouldn't get on for two more stops. I took my backpack off and put it down by my feet. As I fumbled with my headphones, someone sat beside me. I looked over and saw the girl had taken the seat right next to me. She still had a distant look in her eye, but there was no way she sat there by mistake. The bus was practically empty, she could've sat anywhere.

I think she noticed my staring, because she turned to me and said, "I'm sorry, did you want to be left alone?"

I raised my eyebrows and shook my head. "No, no, it's completely ok! I just, you know, I thought you wanted to be alone. I was just surprised is all."

"No, sorry." She said, and she faced the front again. Silence immediately followed.

_This girl is confusing as all hell. _I thought to myself. I decided to keep talking to her.

"I'm Link, by the way." I said, holding out my hand.

She gave me a small smile. "Zelda." She shook my hand. "I'm sorry Link, I'm usually friendlier than this."

I gave her a sympathetic look. "A lot on your mind?"

"Sort of." She said, keeping a straight, unreadable face. "I'm not sure if you'd be interested in my mind's ramblings."

"Try me."

Zelda turned her body to face me more. "Ok. But I'm going to warn you, I plan ahead a lot." I laughed and nodded. "So, if you were given the opportunity to go into the future and see your life 10 years from now, would you?"

The question caught me off guard. "What do you mean?"

She seemed to be looking for a way to express her thoughts. "Well, like, if you could just go into the future, let's say you were only there for 20 minutes. If you could use that 20 minutes to look at your future self, see how your life is going, would you?"

"As a bystander? Or would I step into the shoes of my older self and experience my life for 20 minutes?" I asked her.

"No, you would just watch it as if you were watching TV." She explained. "You would see your older self, see where you work, what friends you have, a family maybe… You could just see how your life is 10 years down the road, then come back to today and continue living it."

I pondered what she was saying. Would I? What good what it do for me? Would I be inspired or would I dread the future after seeing it? I shook me head. "I honestly don't know. I'd really have to think about it."

Zelda sighed. "Ok."

"Would you?" I asked her.

"Definitely." She said, not even taking a second to hesitate.


	2. Chapter 2

Zelda stared at her hands in her lap, obviously deep in her own thoughts.

I raised my eyebrows. "You would? And why's that?"

She sighed and looked out ahead of her. There were a few seconds of silence with her just staring ahead. After a while, I couldn't help but wonder if I'd actually even said anything, but eventually she spoke up.

"What do you think their stories are?" Zelda asked.

I followed her eyes to the front of the bus. She was looking at the other people sitting silently in their seats. I don't know why she was avoiding my question, but I chose to just go along with it.

"I see these people every day. Well, every weekday." I told her. "But I wouldn't be able to tell you a thing about them."

Zelda turned to me. "So how do you think they got to a point in their lives where they take the bus everyday? What brought them to this bus?"

Her questions were getting unexpectedly deep, I wasn't sure how I should approach them.

"I really wouldn't know where to start." I said, shrugging.

Zelda got a disappointed look on her face. "So you don't really think about this stuff?"

I shrugged again and shook my head. "Sorry, but no. But you just brought up the future, why are you asking about the past now?"

Zelda look down at her hands again. "I don't see much of a difference between the two."

I must've given her quite the look because she quickly began trying to reason her idea. "No, no, that came out weird! I don't mean that all time is the same thing or anything, I'm not some conspiracy theorist or something. Obviously there are differences between past and future, but those differences don't really seem to matter that much."

I nodded, but still gave her a confused look.

Zelda let out a frustrated sigh. "How do I put this?" She took a second to think, then said, "Ok, so future, becomes present, becomes past, right? So let's say today you decide that for tomorrow's lunch you'll get a bagel. That's the future. Then when tomorrow comes, you get the bagel. That's the present. Then, on your bus ride home, you think about the bagel you ate for lunch. That's the past. But thinking about the past makes you decide you want the same future. You'll say to yourself you want a bagel for the next day's lunch. You see what I mean?"

I took a minute to think about what she was saying. "I see how they're similar, but I wouldn't say there's hardly a difference."

"Think about it." She said, pulling a leg up to her torso, so she can completely face me. "Your past helps you make the future. Be it in getting a bagel or deciding which bank to go to. In this situation, getting the bagel before helps you know to get it again. Whether it already happened or has yet to happen, you know that you have a bagel. In the past you have a bagel, in the future you have a bagel." I nodded, starting to understand what she was saying. Zelda gestured to the other people on the bus. "I want to know their pasts. Knowing their pasts helps to know their futures. It could even help me get to know mine."

"You've lost me again." I said, scratching my head. I looked up at the sign and saw it was approaching Hylia Drive. "I'm sorry, but I have to get off here."

Zelda turned around and looked at the sign. "Hylia already? I have to get off too."

I pulled the cord setting off the ring notifying the driver to stop. We both got our stuff together and got off the bus. "Hey Link." Zelda said getting my attention, then walking to the cover of the bus stop. I paused for a second, then walked over with her.

"You said you see those people on the bus everyday?" She asked me.

I nodded. "Yeah, almost without fail."

Zelda looked at me hopefully. "Then that means _you're_ on the bus at the same time everyday, right?"

I smiled. "Everyday after class, yeah."

"So I'll be able to see you tomorrow?" She asked.

"Absolutely."

Zelda smiled. Not the polite or apologetic smiles she had given me before, but a truly happy smile. "Great!" Her eyes sparkled, even in the rain, when she said that. She really was a remarkably beautiful girl. It made me happy that I could bring a smile like that to her face. "I'll see you tomorrow then!"

Before she walked away, I held out my umbrella for her. She smiled, but shook her head. "I have a hood today, see?" She said, pulling it over her head.

I smiled back. "I know. But take it anyway. This way you'll have to find me to return it."

Zelda gave me that smile again. I couldn't help but appreciate it as she grabbed the umbrella from my hand. "Bye Link."

"See you tomorrow Zelda."

* * *

><p>As I walked home, I thought hard about what Zelda was saying. Would I want to know where my life goes? Would that take away the surprise and thrill of actually living it? Could my future really be that dependent on my past?<p>

I smiled to myself as I entered my apartment building.

_I wouldn't exactly mind that. If I paid last month's rent, then I would definitely be able to pay this month's. _I thought to myself.

I couldn't decide if I agreed with Zelda on her view of past and present. I don't like the idea of what I'm going to do being decided by what I've already done. She did have a point, but I still don't think the two are as connected as she thinks they are. Plus, there are always exceptions to the rule.

I entered my apartment, still thinking about it. Pipit was on the couch watching TV.

"Yo." He greeted, sitting up. "Any reason your aunt would've tried calling me?"

I shook my head and walked to the kitchen. "Probably because she can't reach me." I grabbed a soda from the fridge.

"Ah." He replied, nodding. "Is this because of Groose?"

"It's because of Groose." I said, sitting down on the other side of the couch. I wanted to change the subject, so I asked him, "Do you want to know the future?"

Pipit looked at me. "Is this a rhetorical question or an offer?"

"Take a guess." I said, smirking. "No, but seriously. If you could know what would happen to you, would you?"

He thought for a moment, then said, "Don't have to."

I raised an eyebrow. "You don't?"

"Nah." He shook his head. "As long as I have clothes to wear in the morning and food to eat, I know my future's off to a good start."

"That's rather simplistic." I commented.

He grabbed the remote and flipped through the channels. "No one ever said it has to be deep."

I stared at the TV. "Fair enough."

Pipit and Zelda are on opposite ends of this. Pipit seems more in the moment, Zelda thinks ahead. Where am I in this? And the best question of all, why am I taking some random girl's question this seriously?

I tried focusing on whatever show was on, but it really didn't work.

* * *

><p>I waited at the bus stop. It wasn't raining today, so walking here from class wasn't too bad, but it was still rather cloudy. I stood there, acting like I was just waiting for the bus, but in reality I was anxiously waiting for Zelda. Something about her was just so interesting, I found myself thinking about our conversation with fond memories, even though it was incredibly perplexing. I pulled out my iPod to pass the time. I knew there's no way I'd get wifi from where I was, but I just looked through all of my apps to distract myself.<p>

"Hi Link."

I turned around and saw Zelda there, holding my umbrella over my head. She was giving me a slight smile.

"You know, usually a person will wait for it to rain before they open their umbrella." I said to her.

There it was. She smiled her breath-taking smile again. I hadn't even realized I was doing it, but I think I was purposely trying to get her to give me that smile.

"Maybe I'm just using it as a parasol." She replied, a mischievous glint in her eye.

I laughed at her. "I think that requires sunlight."

She began laughing too and handed me my umbrella. I folded it down and tucked it away in my backpack. Behind us, the bus pulled up. We both got on and sat next to each other.

Part of me hoped we would just pick up where we left off, but Zelda stayed quiet. I wasn't sure whether to just bring it up again, or if I should wait for her to say something.

She turned to me while I was thinking and said, "Did you know we're in the same Hylian Studies lecture?"

I turned to her. "I did. It took me a little while to place you when we first met, but I eventually remembered."

She smiled slightly. "You did? Why didn't you say anything?"

I shrugged. "Didn't really seem to matter at the time."

She thought for a moment, but eventually turned to the front, nodding. "I guess. But, anyway, that's actually why I found you yesterday. And today, for that matter." I looked at her. "I noticed you leaving the room, so I just followed you until you stopped at the bus stop."

"Really?" I asked, almost disbelievingly.

She nodded. "Let's sit together next class, ok?"

"Are you sure your friends won't mind?"

Zelda shook her head. "Nah, I don't even have to sit up front with them." She paused, then looked at me, slightly worried. "But I mean, if you want to sit by your friends, that's totally ok. I'm not trying to pressure you or anything."

I shook my head. "I don't know anybody in the class, I usually just sit by myself."

"Great!" She said. "Well, not _great_. But you know what I mean."

I laughed at her. After a second of silence we turned to face the front. We didn't say anything for a minute or so.

"Have you learned any of their names?" Zelda randomly blurted out. "The other people that ride this bus?"

I looked around at them, then back to Zelda. "No, I just know that they're always here."

"Ah. Just curious." Was all she said in reply.

I turned to face her. "You would look at your future if given the chance?"

She returned the gesture. "Of course I would."

"Sorry if this is offends you or something, but that doesn't make much sense." I said, bluntly.

Zelda got a confused look on her face. "Why not?"

"Because if the past and future are the same thing to you, or practically the same, then shouldn't you already know what your future will look like?" I asked her.

Zelda looked straight ahead, taking in what I had said. "I never finished explaining myself, did I?"

I wasn't really sure how to respond. "Didn't you?"

"When I said that yesterday, I wanted you to agree with me." She sighed. "It's what I used to believe. And I mean I _really_ believed it. But with things that have been happening recently, I'm kind of being forced to change my mind. I should really say sorry, I sort of used you. I just wanted somebody to agree with me so I wouldn't have to change my mind, so I tried hearing it from anybody, even a stranger." She leaned back in her seat. "But that way of thinking can't be true, can it? I mean, maybe for little things, like lunch, but…"

I leaned in slightly, eager to hear what she had to say. "So what about the big things?"

"I don't know." She said, almost as if I had defeated her. "I really don't know. Time is cyclical, but only to a certain extent. I thought the past was my answer to my future, but it's just… not. That's why I want to see into my future. I want to know where my life is so I can make the choices that get me there.

I looked ahead, not quite sure what to say to comfort her. "So how do the other people on the bus work into this?"

Zelda looked ahead at the old man. "I want to know where there lives are, how they got there. Maybe it could help me make similar choices, or help me to _avoid_ similar choices."

"But why are things that other people did so important to your decision making? Why can't you do that yourself?"

Zelda looked down at her hands, letting her hair fall in front of her face. Then it dawned on me.

"You're terrified of the future, aren't you?"

Zelda brushed her hair behind her ear. She gave me a quick embarrassed glance, then went back to looking at her hands.

"Is that bad?" She asked. But she wasn't trying to defend her idea, she was legitimately asking the question.

I had to word my answer carefully. "I think it can be bad. But it's not inherently. Everybody is nervous about what's coming ahead, I'd say that feeling never quite goes away. But I think it's only bad if those nerves stop you from having a future of your own."

"Is that what I'm doing?" She asked. I guess, from her perspective, I was giving her advice.

"It's not really my place to say." I said, turning to look out the window.

"Oh." She said quietly.

I didn't know what to tell her. I only met her three days ago, how could I? We completely skipped over the small talk part of meeting someone and jumped right into the big stuff. I don't know what to say to her.

Our stop came up quicker than I had expected. We got off and before she said bye, Zelda turned to her side, almost as if she was afraid to fully face me. She had her contemplative face on.

"Link, we're friends, right?" Zelda asked me.

"I consider you my friend, yeah." I said, nodding.

"Good." She said, turning to me completely. "None of my other friends want to talk about this kind of stuff. It's nice being able to get what's in my head out there."

"Hey, if you need to talk, I'm here." I said, internally wondering why I said it. I don't know what to say to her, but I guess that doesn't matter. Maybe she just wants someone to listen.

"I appreciate that." She said, smiling. She turned around with a little bounce, and began walking away. I sighed, looking up at the sky.

I wish it had rained today.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey there!**

**Thanks to ShadowNinja1011 and DrDonuts for reviewing! And in response to the Doctor's question, I have the story mapped out, but I don't know exactly how long it'll be. It should be relatively lengthy though.**

****Hope you're enjoying the story so far! It's more serious than a few of my other stories, but I figured I should try something new. Hope it's working out!****

As I stepped into the apartment, I saw Pipit, leaning on the counter. He seemed frustrated, and when he saw me come in, all of that frustration became focused on me. He stood straight, but stayed where he was.

"Call your aunt." He said. Not just said, it was really more of an order.

"And why would I do that?" I asked incredulously.

"Do it. You know why." He didn't budge an inch.

I put my backpack on the floor and sat on the couch. "What's gotten into you?" I asked, grabbing the remote and turning on the TV.

Pipit walked in front of me and hit the power button. He kept his intense stare. "Do it."

Now I was becoming irritated. "What's _your_ problem?"

"I kept getting calls today, once during an midterm." He said, crossing his arms, but never breaking eye contact. "I could've gotten an immediate fail. This has to stop. Call her."

"Why don't you just tell her to leave you alone?" I ask, standing up to meet his eye. "And why did you even have your phone on during a test? Put it on silent or something, moron."

"Why the hell don't you just talk to her?" Pipit began raising his voice.

"Because I already know what she'll say!" I said, matching him.

Pipit kept glaring for a few seconds, but eventually sighed angrily and walked back to the kitchen. It's a good thing he did, we were on a bad path for a second there. He walked to the sink and turned on the faucet. Pipit is a bit odd, in that washing dishes helps him calm down. He says doing a mundane action lets his mind focus and helps him relax.

"If you already know what she's going to ask, shouldn't you have a proper answer?" He asked, already quieting down.

"Not one she'll want to hear." I say, sitting back down.

We were both quiet for a few minutes, only the sound of running water to chase away the still air. Eventually Pipit said, "It wouldn't kill you to visit the hospital once."

I stood up. "Unfortunately." Was all I said before I walked out the door.

* * *

><p>I didn't have to work for another hour and a half, and I didn't have any place in mind to visit, so I just kept walking. I wanted to be anywhere that wasn't my apartment. For a place that still feels like home, it's still a source of unwanted stress. Rent, Pipit, Aunt Impa… Right now that place holds everything I don't want to deal with.<p>

I went to the bus stop. I figured I would just ride it for a little bit, get off at some random stop, then take the opposite bus back up here. While I was waiting, I couldn't help but look around to see if Zelda was around. I don't know why she would be, part of me was just hopeful.

As I was thinking about what I would even say if she showed up, the bus came by. Getting on, it was a bit of an odd feeling. The bus I usually take at night felt almost like a second home. I shook my head, realizing how silly that sounded. But there were always the same people, the same sights, it was familiar. This time I was getting on a bus with people I didn't recognize. A _lot_ of people I didn't recognize. A _lot_ of people in general!

As I stepped on and saw no open seats, I remembered I had just gotten on during the rush. The people leaving work and all trying to get home at the same time. I could get more than 3 steps down the aisle before I had to just turn around, grab the railing, and stand there.

This was a stupid idea. Why did leave? I knew if I got off now I would look like an idiot, so I rode the bus for four stops. Once I got off, I immediately crossed the street and waited at the bus stop. Thankfully nobody was around to see my mistake and the bus came after just a few minutes.

I quickly went in and took my seat in back. I stared straight ahead of me, when I noticed the old man. The same old man that was usually on my ride home was here on this bus, a bus headed in the opposite direction. Same seat and everything. I couldn't help but look at him, wondering why he was here.

_What do you think their stories are? Have you learned any of their names?_

Zelda's words rang in my head. For once, I was actually curious. Why was he here? What was his name?

I don't know what it was that drove me to do it, but I found myself standing up and walking over to him. I heard Zelda's voice the entire trip over to him. I took the seat right beside him. He slightly turned his head to me and gave me a small, polite smile.

"Say son, aren't you usually off the bus by now?" He asked me.

I guess in and off itself, that statement could be rather creepy. But the fact that I was thinking the same thing about him, coupled with his incredibly friendly demeanor made it seem more inviting.

I grinned a bit. "Yeah, I'm usually off by Hylia. I was actually wondering the same about you, though. Aren't you supposed to be off by now?"

He gave a small, raspy chuckle. "I'm on my way home now." He shifted so he was facing me slightly, but still had his hands resting on his cane in front of him. "What's your name, son?"

"Link."

"Link, we see each other every day, don't we? Or just about." He grunted.

"Yeah, we do." I said, not quite sure why I came over here in the first place. I didn't have much to say.

He took his right hand off his cane and held it out for me. "How rude of me, I never introduced myself. I'm Rauru."

I shook his hand. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise. Link, when I'm on your bus, I'm going downtown. My son, his name is Auru, lives down there with his family. I try to see my grandson as often as I can."

I smiled at him. "That's great."

Rauru nodded slowly. "Yeah, it really is. See, I wasn't the greatest father to Auru. Ol' Rauru here wasn't home much to spend time with his son. By the time I realized how big my mistake was, Auru had already gone. I'm trying to make up for lost time, you know?"

"I see." Not sure if I would be over stepping my boundaries by asking further.

He grunted again. "What's great about it is that Auru is willing to still be part of his life. And now I want to be there for _his _son and help him out whenever he needs me." I nodded in understanding. "So yeah, usually I'm off the other bus, but now I'm going back home after spending time with my family. And this bus is where I'm supposed to be."

Hylia Drive came up on the upcoming stop screen.

Rauru began laughing. "Listen to me, chatting your ear off, talking only about myself. I believe it's your stop, Link."

I looked at the sign. I wanted to stay, even though I wasn't saying much. I just wanted to listen to what Rauru had to say. But I had to get back to the apartment, even if I still had an hour to kill.

"Oh, right." I stood up, but turned to face Rauru. I smiled at him. "It was a pleasure meeting you Rauru."

The kind old man nodded. "Feel free to talk anytime."

* * *

><p>I stepped into Telma's, ready for work. Some of the regulars were already there, chatting away. When they saw me walk in, they waved. Some of them already seemed a bit tipsy, Darunia in particular.<p>

"Link!" They yelled at me.

I smiled. "Hey guys."

Telma was behind the bar and whirled around to face the door. "Honey, I'm glad you made it. I've got a lot of calls to return, so you're up." She handed me a towel to dry the glasses, and went straight into her office.

I went behind the bar to talk to the barflies. So far, Darunia, Mikau, Ashei, and Shad had shown up. Darunia was a big, muscular guy, which he believed meant that he was able to handle more alcohol than the others, but he was usually gone after four bottles. Mikau was really only a social drinker. When it was just me and him left in the building, he switched to water. Ashei wasn't your typical girl in a bar. She wasn't there to meet up with her girlfriends or anything, she was there to hold her own with the guys. And more often than not, she beat them. Shad seldom drank at all. In fact, I'm not even sure how he started coming here, he was a regular here before I even started.

"No Rusl today?" I asked them.

Ashei shook her head. "No, his son is in a school play or something."

"I believe they're doing a Carlov Figuro piece." Shad added.

"Right, cuz we all know who _that _is!" Darunia said loudly.

I laughed. "How much has he had?"

Mikau held up two fingers. "Two so far. Give him a few more and he'll be out."

"Hey Link, drink with us!" Darunia yelled.

I shook my head. We were already having this conversation. It happened every night. "I'm not 21, remember?"

Darunia gave me an incredulous look. "Well, so what? Have one!"

"One more year, then I can join you." I said, picking up a glass to wipe.

"Ah Link, so responsible." Ashei said. I assumed she was mocking me, but she kept a straight face.

"It's rather odd that you can be old enough to serve the drinks, but not old enough to actually drink them." Shad said.

I nodded slightly. "Plus, I'm working. Don't want to upset the boss."

"Do you really think she'd mind?" Mikau asked, grinning.

I laughed. We had really shallow conversation for most of the night. Talking about our days, funny stories we remembered. Darunia ended up going home first, which usually happened. Mikau walked him home, as Darunia's house was only a block away, then came back to join us.

"…So then this lunatic ends up screaming at the bus driver from outside the bus about how he's going to bring the moon down from the sky!" Ashei said, laughing. She was probably buzzed, but it's the farthest I've ever seen her go.

"Did the driver do anything?" Mikau asked.

"Nah, he just continued with his route." She told us. "I tell you, there are some interesting people on this city's public transit."

I nodded. My thoughts immediately went to Zelda. She wasn't crazy, but she certainly was interesting. She said she was usually friendlier, but so far the only conversations I've had with her were remarkably impactful. She was friendly, but not in the usually smile and make small talk way. Something about her was different.

"Hey guys, if you were given the option to know your future, would you take it?" I asked them.

"What?" Mikau asked.

"If you could get a glimpse of your life, like 10 years from now or something, would you do it?"

They took a second to let the question sink in.

"I don't know, probably." Mikau said.

Ashei nodded. "Yeah, couldn't hurt."

Shad thought a little while longer, but eventually nodded. "I suppose if my seeing the future wouldn't change its outcome, yes. Why do you ask?"

I looked down at the counter. "I met a girl on the bus who asked me the same thing."

I was expecting drunken coos of how I met a girl, but surprisingly that didn't happen.

"So what'd you say?" Ashei asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know. I still don't."

"Eh, you're young, no need to worry about the future." Mikau said. Of the four of us left, he was the oldest, but he still couldn't have been older than 30. "Who was the girl?"

"Just somebody I met on the bus. Her name's Zelda."

Mikau and Shad just nodded, but Ashei spoke up. "I went to a high school with a Zelda. Well, sort of. She was a freshman when I was a senior, so I didn't see her much, but yeah."

"Blonde hair, blue eyes?" I asked her.

Ashei had a thoughtful face on. "Yeah, I think so."

I knew that that wasn't enough to go off of, but it could've been her. "I wonder if it's the same girl."

Ashei shrugged and took a sip of her drink. "Possible. She could've easily gotten into Hyrule U. Talk about a girl who had her life on track." I leaned in to hear what Ashei had to say. "Even as a freshman, this girl was top of her class. She was in softball and soccer, was looking into colleges, she was just on the ball."

I stood up straight began washing another glass.

"I remember her name coming up recently." She said. I stopped washing and look at her, curious. She seemed to really be thinking hard. "Crap, I can't remember why. But I'm pretty sure something pretty big happened with her. I was talking to a friend of mine about it." I waited to see if she would add more, but eventually she said, "Whatever, doesn't matter."

I wanted to argue it did, but it was really just my own nosiness. There's no guarantee it was even the same person.

The night ended without any problems. I went back home, knowing I'd have to get up in just a few hours. I wondered who Zelda really was. What made her so scared of the future? Why did she pick me to talk about this stuff with? And what was it about her that had me so interested?


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey-o**

**Thanks to Imagination That, tswiftfan1, and DrDonuts for reviewing! Means a lot guys!**

**In response to tswiftfan1's question, you'll find my own opinions on the subject later in the story!**

**And referring to DrDonuts's comment, I can make chapters longer if you all would prefer. I figured 2,000+ was an ideal length, since these are meant to be read easily in one sitting. But I can make them more substantial if that's preferable!**

**FUN FACT: I posed the question "Would you look into your future?" to a lot of my friends before writing this. Every answer Link gets from the people in his life are actually the answers my friend's gave. With the exception of Zelda. Her views were written for her character.**

I walked into the Hylian History Lecture, not entirely sure what to expect. I glanced at the front row as I passed by. Zelda wasn't there, but a few of her friends were. Not wanting to make it too obvious I was searching for someone, I casually looked around the room. I didn't find her anywhere else, so I assumed she just hadn't come in yet. Taking a random seat toward the top row, I realized I was really nervous. I don't know why, but I couldn't help but feel anxious about her getting here. Maybe I was worried about what she would say to me, or if she'd even remember to sit by me.

I checked my phone. 2 missed calls from Aunt Impa. She really won't let this go. I glanced up when I heard the door open. Lo and behold, Zelda walked in. One of her friends called out to her, but Zelda just smiled and waved to her. I saw her scanning the room, until her eyes locked with mine. She smiled and quickly walked up the steps. Taking the seat right by me, she said, "Hi there!"

"Hey." I smiled back.

"How are you?" She asked, opening up her backpack.

"Pretty good, can't complain. You?"

"That's good. I'm doing alright." She replied.

I nodded. There were a few seconds of quiet. It felt to me like an awkward silence, but Zelda really didn't seem to mind it. Wanting to say something, anything, to her, I abruptly said, "I actually did it."

She turned to me. "What's that?"

"I learned one of their names." I told her. "The old man on the bus, I talked to him."

She turned to face me more. "Really? That's great!" She said, smiling. Her smile turned to a confused look. "Wait, how? We had already gotten off the bus." I explained to her how the events of yesterday ended up in me officially meeting Rauru. I told her about how he visits his grandson every day and that his relationship with his son was strained, but seems to be getting better. "Or at least, that was how I saw it." I told her.

Zelda sat back, a content look on her face. "Rauru."

I don't know Zelda all that well, so she could easily be the type to want to talk to people. I had the feeling that she wouldn't hesitate talking to Rauru if I was around, since he and I knew each other. Well, with "knew each other" being loosely defined. Class went by faster than usual, but that's probably because I was able to kill time by making little comments that made Zelda laugh. Toward the end, though, she just seemed to stop acknowledging whenever I said anything. I guess I was over doing it.

After class, Zelda and I walked to the bus stop. We hadn't said anything since class was let out, and Zelda seemed to be thinking deeply.

"Zelda? Are you ok?" I asked.

She looked up at me, slightly surprised. "Oh, yeah, yeah, I'm ok."

"What are you thinking about?" I asked her.

She looked ahead at where we were going. "Can I ask you something?"

Admittedly, I was a bit skeptical on the inside. Last time she asked me something, I couldn't stop thinking about her. But I said, "Of course, what's up?"

"Why did you leave your apartment yesterday?"

I looked at her. She didn't stop gazing out ahead of her, almost as if she knew it would strike a chord. "I told you, my roommate was bothering me. What brought that up?"

She looked at me from the side of her eye. "Did it have something to do with whatever you saw on your phone?" She asked.

"What?" I was completely caught off guard, but tried to play it off.

"I saw you glance at your phone in class. You sighed, turned it off, then slid it into your backpack. I could be assuming too much, but I just wanted to ask." She said.

I looked down the road. We were coming up to the bus stop. "You're being a bit nosy."

Zelda turned to me. "But am I being _too_ nosy?"

I couldn't help but be speechless. If anybody else I had just met had asked that I would've said Hell yes. But this was Zelda. She doesn't seem to try to make problems, she's just curious.

We just arrived at the bus stop. I sighed. "No, I guess not. But before this goes further, why do you want to know?"

Zelda walked in front of of me. Her eyes were filled with a mixture of concern and determination. "Because we're friends. And as my friend, I want to know what's wrong with you so I can help. You did the same for me."

That last statement took me by surprise. I did? I don't remember ever helping her. I listened to her questions, then couldn't even answer them for her. In fact, she said when she did come to me for help, I didn't do what she wanted. Some help I am.

"You talked to me."

Was she reading my mind? I looked at her. Her eyes had softened a bit. "You were there to talk to when I needed someone. Like I said, my friends don't like talking about this stuff. But you said I could talk to you, and that's what I needed. I still need it. And you're still here."

I looked right into her eyes. I met her just a few days ago, am I really that important in her life? Just because I gave her an umbrella and someone to talk to?

"So what happened?" Zelda asked, stopping my train of thought.

I saw the bus coming. "I'll tell you about it some other time."

"How about tomorrow? If you're not busy." She asked, head tilted.

I scratched the back of my head. "Yeah, that should work. I don't work until later in the day."

The bus pulled up to our stop. "Great!" Zelda said. "Let's meet up here at noon, ok?"

I walked into the bus. "Sounds good." I turned around and saw Zelda wasn't getting on. "Aren't you coming?" I asked her.

Zelda shook her head. "No, I live two blocks that way." She pointed down the street perpendicular to the bus route. I stared at her in disbelief, mouth agape. She waved and smiled at me. "See you tomorrow!" She began walking away.

I went to my seat trying to make sense of what just happened.

* * *

><p>"So she's been joining you on the bus for the past few days, even though it's going out of her way to get home?" Rusl asked me.<p>

I nodded, still flabbergasted. "Exactly!"

The bar was busier than it had been last night, but that's to be expected on a Friday. The regulars were here, and tonight they were joined by Rusl and his wife Uli. Rusl was something of a father figure to me. I met him through my Aunt Impa when I was 15, and he's always been willing to give me advice. Uli was a bit more reserved, but still warm, motherly friend of mine. Their son, Colin, was 15 and more than capable of looking after his little sister. They knew this, but why still didn't want to be out all night, so they used the excuse of needing to get home to see the kids. On nights when Uli joined him, the two were gone by 8. Otherwise Rusl usually stayed until 10 or so.

"Sounds like this girl has a little crush on you, Link." Uli said, smiling.

Mikau put his glass down. "I don't want to put you down bud, but I don't think that's what it is."

I nodded slightly. "Yeah, I don't think so either."

"The girl's just a bit nuts." Darunia grunted.

"Always a possibility." Ashei said, taking a drink.

I sighed, picking up a glass. "I doubt it."

"So what do you make of it?" Shad asked me.

"I can't say for sure." I said, putting the glass down and leaning on the counter. "I think she just needs someone to talk to. Like, she has thoughts that most people don't think about or don't want to hear, but she just desperately needs to get them out there."

"And you're that someone for her to talk to?" Rusl asked.

"I guess."

"You don't sound happy about that." Mikau pointed out.

"It's not that I'm not happy about it, it's just…" I thought about it for a second. I really wasn't happy about it. But, the weird thing was, i wasn't _un_-happy about it either. I really didn't know how I felt about it.

"It's just what?" Ashei asked.

"It's confusing." I said, scratching my head. "I guess I just don't know what to do when someone's depending on me."

"Come on, kid. It's not like she's asking you to save her from a tower. She just wants to talk." Darunia said.

"Now now, no need to be hard on him." Rusl spoke up.

"I'm not being hard on him, he's being hard on himself." Darunia said, gesturing his hand to me.

"He has a point." Ashei said. "Stop thinking about how you should handle it. The way you were handling things before you started thinking about this stuff seemed to work well."

"I'm not sure that's the best plan." I told her.

"There is something to that, actually." Shad interjected. "Perhaps you could help the girl who always plans things by being impulsive."

"That could work." Mikau said, looking into his glass, then holding it up. "One more Link."

"You got it." I said, grabbing the glass. After filling it and handing it back, I laughed. "Hey, isn't the bartender supposed to help the customers with _their _problems? Not the other way around?

"If you insist!" Darunia blurted out. "So, I have to visit my brother Darmani tomorrow, and he has this kid that just won't stop crying…"

* * *

><p>I walked to the bus stop a few minutes after noon and saw that Zelda was already there. She turned and smiled when I called out her name.<p>

"Hey Link!"

"So where did you want to go?" I asked her.

"How about Stock Pot?" She suggested.

"Sounds good." I looked down the road. "Any idea when the bus will get here?"

Zelda shrugged. "How about we walk instead?"

"Um…" I glanced around. It was a bit windy, but not so bad we couldn't tough it out. I smiled. "Sure, why not?"

As we began walking, Zelda stayed quiet. If what I knew about her was true, that meant she was thinking hard about something. I took the time of silence to look around the neighborhoods as we passed by. Hyrule City was pretty big, but the smaller areas were very quaint. The walk was calming, or rather, as calming as it could be knowing Zelda was going to ask me something big.

After about 10 minutes of silence, she finally spoke up. "You said you work later, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, but not until later tonight. I have plenty of time."

"Ok." She quietly muttered.

The rest of the walk was silence again. I began wondering if I should come up with an excuse to leave early, it was starting to become uncomfortable. But we arrived to the Stock Pot Diner after a bit and took a booth. Zelda immediately looked out the window. I was about to grab a menu, but she suddenly spoke up.

"So what's been going on with you and your roommate?"

I raised an eyebrow. For a serious question, she seemed awfully aloof. "How many toes does a Dodongo have?" I asked her.

She looked at me, confused. "What?"

"Just seeing if you were listening."

"Oh, yeah. I'm listening. Sorry." She said, pushing her hair to the side.

"Zelda, what's going on?" I asked, resting my arms on the table.

"What do you mean?" She leaned back.

I was about to continue, but I realized doing so would've been making quite a few assumptions. I'm assuming I know her. I'm assuming she's the Zelda that Ashei knows. I'm assuming she's not usually like this. I'm assuming she's had a good life but something bad has happened. Zelda doesn't assume, she always asks before she says anything. She may be nosy, but I'm even worse. I'm being presumptuous.

I leaned back. "Nothing, never mind." Now if was my turn to ask. "Can I ask you a question?"

Zelda tilted her head. "Ok, sure."

"Do you a girl by the name Ashei?" I said. I figured it was the best place to start.

"Ashei." She repeated, thinking. "I think there was a girl named Ashei in my high school. I never really knew her though. Why?"

I waved my hand. "Not important. But as a follow up question, something has happened to you recently, hasn't it?"

She was sort of stunned for a moment, but quickly regained her composure. "I guess. But a lot of things happen."

I looked at her seriously. "Something big."

She seemed scared. "What are you getting at?"

"Ashei remembers you." I said.

"Link, you're kind of freaking me out." Zelda said, shifting in the booth.

"Sorry." I shook my head. "Ashei visits me at work. I brought you up once, and she told me about a girl in her high school who had everything going for her. Aside from the name, you and that Zelda don't seem much alike, but when you said you knew Ashei, it was clear you were one and the same. But something has happened, and it's changed you. You've mentioned it in passing before, but I figured I could bring it up."

Zelda looked back out the window. "I see."

Neither of us said anything for a minute. A waitress came and got our order, leaving us to our silence again.

"Do I bother you?" Zelda randomly said.

And here we go. "Of course not. I wouldn't be here if you did. Why would you ask that?"

"I feel like I'm not giving much to this friendship." She said bluntly, still looking outside.

"And I am?" I asked.

She immediately looked at me. "Yes. You are able to put together so much about me. You listen when I talk and begin to figure me out. You're piecing together who I am as a person. Whereas, I don't even know how to talk to you if I'm not complaining."

"That's because we skipped a few steps. We began having big talk without ever having small talk." I told her.

Zelda thought about what I had said, and she seemed to be doing it rather intensely. Then she leaned forward. "You're right. I'm very sorry. Can we start over?"

I smiled. "No." Zelda seemed taken aback. "See, I believe in forgive and forget. Well, for the most part. And I don't want to forget what I know about you, and I still want to start making small talk. So let's just…" I looked out the window. "Let's just say we started our journey at a different point on the map."

Zelda broke out her smile. The one that keeps making me pause to truly appreciate it. The one that makes the world just a little bit brighter. "I like that. A lot."

* * *

><p>Zelda and I talked for a bit after that. I learned she's majoring in Political Science, and I told her I was majoring in History. I mentioned I moved to the city from Kakariko, and she told me she's been here her whole life. Her best friend was named Malon, and I told her mine was named Pipit.<p>

"Is that you're roommate?" Zelda asked, taking a sip of her drink.

"Yeah, that's him." I said.

"Do you guys get into fights often?" Zelda said, smirking.

I smiled down at my plate. "Now and again." Wanting to change the subject, I brought up the bus. "Hey, what's up with you riding the bus?"

Zelda giggled to herself. "Oh, right. That's probably pretty weird. Remember the day we first met?"

I laughed. "It was only 3 or 4 days ago, so yeah I remember."

"Oh, right." Zelda smiled. "Well, that day I was going to visit Malon, she lives on Hylia Drive. Well, the day after that, I went on the bus to return your umbrella. Same with the following day. And from there, I just kept going to talk to you."

"You flatter me." I chuckled.

"Well, we're friends! And I like seeing my friends!" She said, putting her hands up.

I smiled. "You don't have to go out of your way to see me. Here." I pulled out my phone. "What's your number? It'll make things easier."

Zelda held her hand out. "Here." I gave her my phone. She put in her number and sent herself a text. "There we go!"

"Great, now if you want to talk, I'm right here." I held up my phone.

Zelda rested her chin on her hand and smiled at me. "Link, what's your family like?"

I began to get a bit worried. "Why?"

"You're just so friendly. I can only imagine your family is the same." She said, still smiling.

I sighed. "I never really thought of myself as _that_ friendly. But I'm glad you think so." I smiled, but only for a second. "My family is…" I trailed off and looked out the window.

Zelda got a concerned look on her face. "Do you not want to talk about it?"

"It's not a particularly happy topic." I said, not meeting her gaze.

"If you don't want to, I completely understand." She said, leaning back.

I looked at her. "You know what? You've opened up to me, I want to do the same for you." I sat up straight. "Well, my parents died when I was a baby, too young to even remember."

"Oh, Link…" Zelda said.

I put my hand up. "Hey, it's ok. I never really knew them. So then my grandma took me in. Unfortunately, she too passed. I was about 10 at the time." Zelda's face kept getting sadder and sadder, but I tried to give her a reassuring look. "So then my Aunt Impa took me in. I lived with her and my cousin Groose until I moved out here for school."

Zelda was quiet for a few seconds, but eventually muttered, "I'm sorry, you really didn't have to tell me all that if you didn't want to."

I smiled at her. "I wanted to tell you."

She gave me a sympathetic smile in return. "Well, I'm sorry you had to go through all of that. Are you close with your aunt and cousin?"

"Not really. Groose was bigger than me, so I got picked on a lot. And my aunt keeps trying to call me."

"Why's that?" She asked.

I sighed. "Well. Because now Groose has cancer."


End file.
